Chapter 40: Fifteen Million

"Brother Zhou, do you want this?" Liu Dong turned and asked. Although he didn't know what profession Zhou Bin was in, since he seemed to enjoy gambling on stones so much, he might have his own jewelry company. So Liu Dong asked, thinking that if he really needed it, he could sell it to him at a lower price out of friendship.

Zhou Bin smiled and waved his hand. He was very pleased that Liu Dong thought of him first when faced with such a large sum of money. He felt that this friend was indeed a good one, "No need, I play with stone gambling purely for fun and excitement. I don't have a jewelry company, so I don't need this kind of jade. If you want to sell it, go ahead and sell it to him!"

Hearing his words, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang, who had been somewhat anxious, immediately broke into a smile, the stone in his heart finally put to rest. He was really afraid that Liu Dong would sell this high-quality jade to someone else. He then asked, "Young brother, what's your bank account number? I'll transfer the money to you right away!"

Seeing the urgency on the face of the middle-aged man surnamed Wang, Liu Dong, who was not immune to the allure of such a large sum of money, quickly gave his bank account number after seeing no one else offer a higher price.

"Alright, young brother, you can call to check!" In just a few minutes, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang had completed everything.

After hearing his words, Liu Dong took out his newly bought phone and dialed the number. There was no caller ID back then, so after a transfer, one usually had to call or go to the bank to check.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Dong confirmed that the fifteen million had been transferred to his account and then handed the ice jade to the middle-aged man surnamed Wang, "I've handed the jade to you personally. Now we are both clear on the money and the goods!"

"Of course!" The middle-aged man surnamed Wang responded with a delighted expression. Judging by his careful manner, he had probably never been as attentive as he was now, even when holding his own son.

Clearly, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang was not alone. After receiving the jade from Liu Dong, he quickly took a silver box from a young man behind him, opened it, and carefully wrapped the jade in red silk, placing it inside. He then closed the lid and locked the password lock before heaving a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, young brother, but this thing is too valuable to be careless with!" The middle-aged man surnamed Wang said, feeling relieved.

"No problem, I would do the same!" Liu Dong was not lying. If it weren't for the crowd, he would have already stored the jade in his own storage space. After all, if a fifteen million yuan jade were to be damaged, the loss would be more than just the jade—it would be the money!

"May I ask your name, young brother?" The middle-aged man surnamed Wang asked.

"My name is Liu, you can call me Liu Dong."

"In that case, I'll take the liberty of calling you Brother Liu. Here is my business card. If you have such good jade in the future, you can call me. I won't let you down!" The middle-aged man surnamed Wang paused, then took out a well-made yellow business card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Liu Dong with both hands, "Brother Liu, please keep this card."

"Chairman Wang Changzhong of Wang's Jewelry!" Liu Dong silently read the introduction on the elegant business card.

"Brother Liu, we'll keep in touch. I need to store this jade properly now, otherwise, I won't feel at ease holding it!" Wang Changzhong said.

"Sure, go ahead!"

Seeing the transaction complete, the people around them also swarmed over, and soon Liu Dong had a pile of business cards in his hand, which made him shake his head.

"Well, you'll get used to it!" Zhou Bin patted Liu Dong's shoulder with a somewhat gloating smile. To be honest, although his net worth far exceeded Liu Dong's, seeing him spend only 2,500 yuan to buy a piece of unwanted material and then turn it into fifteen million yuan was still quite enviable. Of course, this envy quickly turned into a strong interest in stone gambling.

"Old Ma, I heard you brought a batch of old mine materials directly from Myanmar. How about showing us?"

Hearing this, the fat man Ma chuckled, "Mr. Zhou, if you want to see, there's no problem."

Just as they were talking, the elderly man surnamed Qian, who had been competing with the middle-aged man surnamed Wang for the ice jade, came to Liu Dong, "Young man, I see you have another piece of rough jade in your basket. Why didn't you open it together?"

"I wanted to, but I haven't paid for it yet!" Liu Dong said with a helpless smile, "So, I'll have to wait until I settle with Boss Ma before I can open it."

Hearing this, the elderly man surnamed Qian nodded and then said something that surprised Liu Dong, "Young brother, would you consider transferring this piece of rough jade to me? Of course, I won't let you down. How about 20,000 yuan?"

In fact, in the stone gambling industry, there has always been a superstition or habit that after a successful gamble, the merchant's rough jade is easier to sell. This is especially true in an industry that values personal luck. Many stone gamblers even have the habit of setting off firecrackers in their stores after a successful gamble to attract more customers. However, with more and more people in the city, the risk of fire from firecrackers has increased, so it is generally not allowed in the city center. Otherwise, after Liu Dong's successful gamble, the place would not have been so calm.

"No, I plan to buy this piece of rough jade and open it myself. I don't intend to transfer it," Liu Dong said. The jade inside, though not as valuable as the ice apple green he had just opened, was still a high-end golden thread jade. It could be worth at least two million yuan if made into jewelry and pendants. Selling it for 20,000 yuan was out of the question.

Seeing the determined look on his face, the elderly man surnamed Qian sighed and did not raise the price. Instead, he took out a white, elegant business card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Liu Dong, "If you change your mind, you can call this number."

"Sure, if I decide to transfer it, I'll definitely contact you, sir."

Hearing his words, the elderly man nodded and left.

"Brother Liu, keep this business card! Old Qian is the chairman of the Dongshan Province Gem and Jade Association. If you want to play with stones in the future, having a good relationship with Old Qian will be very important!"

Hearing this, Liu Dong was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Boss Ma, can you tell me more about it?"

Liu Dong naturally knew about the Dongshan Province Gem and Jade Association. This semi-official organization, approved by the state, serves as a bridge and link between gem and jade enterprises and workers and the relevant state departments. Even the formulation of national gem and jade policies often comes from this association. Almost all gem and jade enterprises and individuals engaged in exploration, mining, processing, and sales in China are under its jurisdiction.

Of course, the most crucial part is that the Gem and Jade Association, especially the Jade Division and Diamond Division, can issue appraisal certificates, which is a lucrative department. A single appraisal certificate can be worth hundreds or even thousands of yuan, and it's not uncommon for them to be worth tens of thousands. However, how many of these officially appraised jade and diamonds are genuine is hard to say.